Monday, December 29, 2008

To speak of...

Let me unveil the source of my presupposition
Here, devour this... a side dish
Garnished with stale contrition

Watch me as I disarm myself
Presented, plattered up for you
You’re welcomed to feast upon my rendition
Recurring choice of self indulgent volition
Regurgitated, time and again
Insurgent epiphany, I feel it wax and wane...

You see... regrettably, I see through your suppositions,
Your visions, your subsequent propositions
Your assumptions, and your deductions
Implicitly, your statements
Betray something in of themselves
Exposing unacknowledged truths from subconscious realms
They reveal something about you which your admissions belie
I will not deny
I cannot know for sure
What it is that they imply
But I know that they allude to dreams,
Those which are not your own
I have no faith in your authenticity
But I’ve met you before, so it must be me
A different face, the same case
This, the source, to which I alluded in first verse
The illusions I set out initially to disperse.

Convoluted poetic discourse
A cowardly choice, an indirect recourse
Honestly I set out with a purpose - to elucidate.
Make clear what I think of you and your opinions of my opinions of myself.

I offered fuel for the fire
Planned to tie myself to the pyre
Predictable of me and my proclivity to self depreciate
The reasoning? I’ve long since ceased to ruminate.
Still, as I said, I set out with hopes to emancipate
Simplify things through full disclosure

This circumlocution, my only solution
A path of avoidance, a crafted volution
But can you see these words, see how they smother
Attempts to confront turn to dashes for cover.

A vocabulary - ambiguous in its goals
I allow precious words, conflicting roles
A rhyming word can justify the expression of the absurd
Backtrack and question, what it is that you’ve heard
Marvel at how uncomplicated statements can diffuse and diverge
Indulge in the dictionary, splash out, splurge.

But oh, these words
These liberating submissions
Voice to the thoughts, words to the visions
They render my crackling sentiments inert
Yet I find no direct way to speak of the hurt.

By Imbi Johnston

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund) Update

Please note there will be three funding rounds in 2009 under the RADF program. Closing dates are as follows: March 31st (for activities/projects commencing on or after July 1st) June 30th (for activities/projects commencing on or after October 1st) September 30th (for activities/projects commencing on or after January 1st) For information: 4727 9159 Shannon Chadwick Community Cultural Development Officer Townsville City Council mailto:shannon.chadwick@townsville.qld.gov.au

Monday, December 15, 2008

Ode to WITS

With fortitude, tenacity, vigor and vim,
We writers of Townsville are more than a whim.
We write with style.
We write with grace.
We write with adverbs, commas and ...pace.

No grammar eludes us,
No syntax confounds.
We have the knowledge.
Our structure is sound.

But as we write
At our desk and chair,
Oh where to place it,
Oh where, oh where?

We yearn for favour
And small recognition.
So we scribble away
From dreams to fruition.

And in the process
We meet new scribes,
And Wednesday nights
Abound with vibes.

But don't lose heart,
Attend every week,
So with diligence and practice
You'll attain your peak.

A ballad, a poem, a rhyme, a story.
One of these will bring you glory
But if you aspire to a higher plain,
Then cerebral wisdom will be your gain.

They say advice
Is like giving a bald man a comb
But my advice to writers
I have known....

Is never give up
For surely one day
You'll write that best seller.
That one that will pay!




By K.J. Ashwin ( ditties on Demand)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Welcome to WITS

This is the beginning of the WITS' BLOG. WITS stands for Writers in Townsville Society (Incorporated).
We are a band/group/gathering of like-minded writing souls who write and share our knowledge/inspiration/creativity/ and writing within a nurturing atmosphere.
The long and short of it is that we meet and discuss our writing and eat copious amounts of (chocolate) biscuits. (Tim-Tams to be precise).
On a serious note, we meet at the Riverside Gardens Community Centre every Wednesday night at 7:30pm. Our meetings usually begin with a short writing exercise to stimutate creativity, followed by a cuppa. The rest of the evening is devoted to sharing and critiquing works in progress. WITS caters for beginners to the more experienced writer. All participation is completely up to the individual.
A dynamic group which has been active for over 25 years, throughout the year we host workshops, retreats, information sharing sessions and group writing projects. We have close and productive ties with other writers clubs in North Queeensland and major writing organisations in Australia.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Publications by WITS members

The newest WITS anthology Telling Townsville was launched on April 12th 2008 at the Townsville Museum and Historical Society. The anthology was funded by the Townsville City Council and celebrates the 'good old days' through the individual reminiscences and visions of people from different cultures and backgrounds. These are the stories of the people who shaped Townsville into the thriving tropical city it is today.

If you would like to purchase a copy of Telling Townsville ($14.95), please contact us at witsnq@gmail.com


Other publications by WITS members:
  • Anna's Anthology - Anna Picket
  • Diaphanous Auroras - Dr. Mary Casolin
  • Faceting for Fun
  • Fat Chance
  • From Milk Chocolate to Dark Chocolate - Andy King
  • I Remember
  • Long after the thrill - Kerry Ashwin
  • Lord of the Parks
  • Moon Mirrors
  • Parallel Worlds
  • Poems for Gnomes
  • Pretty Pictures
  • Purple Hen
  • Raw Life
  • Santuary of Ice
  • Scrumptious Souvenir Recipes
  • Slim Hope
  • Sunlight & Shadow - Anita Berry
  • Telling Townsville - WITS
  • The Human Species in Dock
  • Townsville Histories and Mysteries - WITS
  • T'ville - Kerry Ashwin, Nikesh Murali, Casey Salt, Stephen Ryan, Lori & Peter Hurst
  • Vision Splendid
  • Wait-a-while
  • Wild River

About Wits

Writers In Townsville Society Inc. is a group of writers who meet weekly to share and critique our works-in-progress, to inspire and to learn from each other.

WITS meet every Wednesday night at 7.30pm in the Riverside Community Hall, 55 Riverside Boulevard, Riverside Gardens, Townsville.

Membership - Attend your first two meetings for free then pay a $25 annual membership fee. Subsequent meetings cost $2 per person. For more information about joining or to receive a membership form, please contact us at witsnq@gmail.com

See also Welcome to Wits

Contributing to the WITS blog

All WITS members are welcome to contribute to the blog through comments or submissions. WITS also welcomes comments from non-members, although they will be moderated by the News Editor before being published.

For WITS members wishing to submit a creative work, tip, tool or advice, please remember that once it's published it's in the public arena and must conform to copyright requirements and taste standards. Please email your submissions to witsnq@gmail.com

Contact WITS

PO Box 4083, Kirwan QLD 4814
Email: witsnq@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Meet the President - January/February 2009

A bi-monthly report from WITS President Lori Hurst

Some dedicated souls no doubt wrote on regardless during the Christmas break, but for the rest of us mere mortals our first WITS meeting for the year was an oasis, after the barren weeks of non-writing. Kerry Ashwin & Nikesh Muralli gave us a kick start with a mini workshop on the nuts & bolts of writing, editing & publishing. Writer’s groups offer a good dose of reinforcement, motivation, encouragement & inspiration but then each of us as individuals has to provide the dedication.

Our thanks to Justine Wilkinson from Townsville City Council, for making the time to come along to a meeting on the 21st January, to explain the nitty gritty of the Strategic Planning workshop. Though we only had a small roll up for the actual workshop on the 7th February thanks to Justine’s organisation and presentation an enormous amount was accomplished. Peter is putting together the action plan which resulted and that will be discussed with all members at a meeting at a date TBA.

One of the aims of WITS is to encourage involvement by members in planning upcoming events and workshops. This is not only a sharing of ideas but it also brings so many more people to the table. Tess McCarthy’s suggestion for a month of dedicated writing when participants WILL WRITE 50,000 WORDS has sparked a lot of interest. March to be research month and April writing month. I haven’t figured out the punishment to be meted out to those who commit and then bail out. (I will write till my fingers bleed just to get my 50k in. No guarantee that it’ll be literary excellence.) For those of you who would like to come aboard, check out the details on the blogsite in February and fill out the form that is your personal commitment to the project.

And for those of us who took advantage of Sylvia Kelso’s Fabulous February Fantasy workshop, I think it is unanimous, that never has $50 purchased so much value in the respect of what we took away from 12 hours of full-on participation.
Sylvia was inspirational. I have pages of ideas to explore for research for my next novel. These workshops are also a great way of getting to know your fellow members and getting a better slant on where they are going with their writing.

On the 25th February WITS had a visit from Iain Mcdougall and Jacinta Ryan who are involved with Townsville Little Theatre, Iain is also the presenter of Kulture Vulture on 4TTT. Iain spoke to the group on the possibility of using writers from WITS to put together radio plays which would be aired on 4TTT and performed by TLT actors.
The following week Kerry Ashwin did a knowledge sharing session on the correct procedures for writing for radio. It’s not as easy as it may seem, but we all came away with a much better concept on how to go about it. Have a bit of a rummage through your short story collections and think about how they might be adapted to a different form. Quite a challenge.

For those of us (all WITS members) who proudly put our names to The Chronicles of T’ville, a fantasy anthology loosely based on Townsville, February has seen its successful publication as an e-book. While it has been a lengthy project I personally believe it was worth every bit of effort. As the anthologist, thank you Nikesh for persevering, when I know there were occasions when you wanted to throw your hands in the air and walk (run!!) away. Those who haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit the Chronicles blogsite, take the time to do so, the anthology showcases five completely diverse stories which express the individual author’s particular style. It’s easy to download and is a good read.

Mini workshops coming up will include Shaun Allen’s briefing on Military Fiction (11th March) & A’Mhara’s presentation on blogging, date TBA. Through the sharing of ideas, knowledge and aspirations we work together to make up a pretty good team. Thanks Witties.

I cannot finish up without congratulating A’Mhara on her brilliant efforts with regards to maintaining the WITS blogsite. Indulge me in the use of a cliché, ‘there is something for everyone.’ The quality and quantity of the presentation has raised WITS profile to a new level. Thank you A’Mhara, for your time and dedication.

The art of writing has entered a new age, the modern tools of the trade are at your fingertips, it’s up to you whether or not you take them up.

Yours in writing,

Lori